Thursday Roundup: Hoopsters on Campus, Holder Honored, & Other Notes

Good morning, people. Hope everybody had a safe and enjoyable Fourth, and I hope you watched at least some of Independence Dayon AMC, because it’s almost un-American not to.

So now it’s back to work, and for some Mississippi State students, back to class. The rest of MSU’s basketball signing class is now on campus and enrolled for the second summer session, which begins today. That means Colin Borchert has been joined by Andre Applewhite, Trivante Bloodman, Jacoby Davis, Craig Sword, Fred Thomas and Gavin Ware.

You can bet that new coach Rick Ray will be working with his new guys ASAP. A new NCAA rule in place this year allows basketball coaches to work with their players up to eight hours per week for up to eight weeks during the summer, including two hours per week of skill instruction.

• MSU relief pitcher Jonathan Holder has been named a second-team freshman All-American by Baseball America. The big right-hander went 2-1 with a 0.32 ERA and nine saves this past season, setting a school record with 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Previously, Holder was a first-teamer on the Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger freshman All-American team and also earned first-team All-SEC freshman honors.

• You might’ve heard that MSU sprinter Daundre Barnaby made the Canadian Olympic team, and he’ll be running the 400-meter dash in London in a few weeks. I’m going to try and catch up with him today for a story.

• Former Bulldog Arnett Moultrie suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out of the NBA summer league (CLICK HERE). He was drafted 27th overall by Miami and traded to Philadelphia.